


David Banner Meets Werewolves

by LenoraLana



Category: The Incredible Hulk (TV)
Genre: Other, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: Dr. David Banner meets his match when he wanders into a new town where werewolves are aplenty. Please Note: This was an experimental, RP/fic I did with a friend named Shanice a few years ago. I just wanted to put it here for old time's sake. I'm unsure if she has an account here or not, therefore I can't reference a username.





	David Banner Meets Werewolves

 

It was the same as always for David Banner. He'd visit a town, try to maintain some modicum of normalcy and ultimately be forced to depart because of his innate sense of justice. Could he really leave a damsel in distress? Could he really leave a child to suffer the abusive parents? His conscience wouldn't allow such things. More than anything he wanted to be left alone, but at the same time he was naturally drawn to helping others.

 

David was in a car as of now--another successful hitch-hiking attempt. The memory of standing on that bleak, empty road felt more like deja vu than anything else. He knew that he'd have to revisit the same scene and somehow he knew that he'd continue seeing it in the near future.

 

"So, where are you headed?" the good natured driver said to a rather pensive David.

 

David only vaguely heard the other speak so deep he was in his own thoughts, "Oh well, the next town will be fine."

 

The driver made a face as he looked at the road in front of him. "Don't know about that, son. Might want to try the next, next town."

 

"Well, why is that?" David asked with mild curiosity.

 

"Strange town that is. Very strange. An unexplained death." 

 

This already sounded like a can of worms that David didn't want to open. Unexplained death would inevitably equal that he would get into trouble. It wouldn't be the first time that he had been blamed for a murder that he had nothing to do with.

 

"Well the politically correct version of the story is that it is unexplained, but that's not really that case."

 

"So there's a ...suspect?" Banner asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"You could say that," the driver answered in lowered tones, "Rumor is...it was a werewolf."

 

The driver said this with such a straight face and in such a serious tone that if he wasn't a doctor who depended on science and logic to solve problems, he might have believed him right then and there, "A wolf?"  David  said in a voice that clearly sounded skeptical.

 

"Yes, sir. A lycanthrope."

 

David decided to play along, "What exactly does this thing look like? "

 

"You see, the thing is, no one has seen it before. "

 

David was beginning to see why this guy had picked him up in the dead of night. This certainly wasn't the first time that a crazy person had bothered with lending a ride. Crazy and extraordinarily nice went hand in hand. "So...if no one has actually seen it before, where does this 'werewolf' theory come from?"

 

The driver actually looked perplexed for a moment, "That's just the theory."

 

"Just the theory?"

 

"Yep."

 

David waited for the other to elaborate, but he didn't. "A theory, then."

 

"Yep."

 

David wondered if he was now talking to a broken record. Then again, David couldn't complain. He was being driven. "So assuming this is a werewolf. Is it a he or a she?"

 

"A woman. Yeah, a woman. That sounds good."

 

"That sounds good? Listen, I can't just let a good person go on thinking like this. Whoever told you this clearly fictional story--

 

"Hey, look, another stray."

 

"What?" David said completely thrown off his train of thought.

 

"Hope you don't mind. Picking up strays is a hobby of mine."

 

"It's fine. This is your car after all."

 

Sure enough, in view, a woman was walking.  She had dark brown  hair  that was neither too short nor too long; it was just long enough to grace her shoulders. She appeared to be in her early twenties and a bit unkempt, as if she hadn't been paying much attention to her appearance for a couple of days. Furthermore she was carrying a backpack, and she was wearing a tattered pair of jeans and a shirt that was one or two sizes too large for her. It was almost as though she didn't care much about what she was wearing or what she looked like.

 

She glanced sharply in the direction of the car as it pulled to a stop near her. Chocolate brown eyes flickered, then narrowed a little as she peered at the two individuals within the car. "Um, can I help you with something?" she asked warily. "Hey," she added as an afterthought, "maybe you could help me, too. Um... this might sound a little strange but, heh, you haven't seen any large wolves moving through this area, have you?" She forced what she hoped was a friendly smile, though her eyes were dead serious.

 

'Again with the wolves' David thought inwardly. If he was smart, he'd simply let everyone go on thinking these things actually existed. Of course, if there were people out there--namely MacGee--who believed in something like the Hulk, then werewolves wouldn't be much of a stretch in the least. In fact, this could be a good thing for David. No one would be concerned about a green man. Everyone would claim werewolf and MacGee would never have to be alerted of his presence. A blessing in the skies? Maybe. Or maybe not. 

 

David looked at the woman with a frown. She was obviously part of the 'believing' townsfolk.

 

"Haven't seen any yet, but if I keep driving around here, I bet I'd catch sight of one. C'mon into the backseat," the driver responded.

 

The woman hesitated. She seemed to consider the idea of getting into the car, but then her eyes flickered toward the two men and she glanced in the direction of the trees. They were more or less out in the middle of nowhere right now, although it wasn't too far to the next town.

 

"Yeah well, it looks like you're going into town, and I'm going in the other direction," she said, taking a step back. "I'm actually going into the woods. Thanks anyway, though."

 

"Well, now it isn't safe for a woman to be walking around by herself," David finally said.

 

"Yeah, what with these wolves around."

 

David gave the other an exasperated look, but said nothing to suggest otherwise.

 

The woman actually gave a little laugh. "Oh I can handle myself," she said with a confidence that showed she truly believed that. She opened her mouth as if to say something else, then closed it again. Her eyes locked onto David's face as she studied him thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, are you new to this area?" she finally asked him .

 

"Very new," David responded, "New enough to tell fact from fiction . " It was obvious to David that if one stayed around here long enough surrounded by such folklore as werewolves, one would soon begin to believe it.

 

She seemed to consider his words for a moment. "What do you think of these stories about the werewolves?" she asked. "I want your honest opinion. Are they fact or fiction?"

 

"Some would say that fact is a matter of proving something to be true. This man, " David said gesturing towards the driver who seemed not at all impatient, "he clearly believes in these werewolves yet he has no proof. As for me, the very thought of their existance is farcical to say the least."

 

The woman chuckled a little. "Well," she said, "I'm going to look for them and hopefully put a stop to this madness." The wheels were turning in her head. This seemed like it could work; she was about to invite a skeptic to join her for a stroll through the woods. She didn't want to put him into danger, and she certainly didn't want him to find out what she really was, but it was important to find... well, the dangerous one. And perhaps a fresh set of eyes, especially in the dark, might help. She definitely didn't want to draw attention to herself by rampaging through the woods in her... well, other form.

 

"Would you like to join me for a walk through the woods?" she asked pointedly at David. "I could even make it worth your time. I'll pay you, and share some of my food rations with you."

 

What did he have to lose? It was always the first question that came to David's mind when faced with such decisions. David knew that the further from real civilization the better. There would be less...well, witnesses to cry wolf--pun intended. Clearly, this woman was dead set on traveling alone. Whether it was a man's natural tendency to think that women couldn't possibly defend themselves by themselves or his own regular need to protect the helpless, the decision was already made. The fact that he would get paid did not fall on deaf ears either.

 

"I'll join you," David replied, "It's rather dark for anyone to go it alone."

 

"What? You don't mean--"

 

"I thank you for all your help, but I'll be leaving now. You have a safe ride back home."

 

"I ain't the one running out into the dark scary forest. You make sure you're safe first."

 

"Well, if there really are werewolves, I'm sure I'll be safe regardless."

 

"Wait a minute, now--"

 

David was already closing the door to the old Cadillac. 

 

"You be safe now," the driver said as he hit the gas and continued down the road.

 

"My name is Donna," the woman said as she turned to face David, extending her right hand toward him as her left hand held the strap of her backpack securely on her shoulder. "What's your name?"

 

 

"David," he responded as he shook her hands. "Now, where exactly are we headed?"

 

Donna glanced toward the trees, then nodded at them indicatively. "That way," she said simply, and then she immediately began walking. Her quick-paced stride took her off of the side of the road and she began to move through the trees, leaving David to follow.

 

David followed her off the road and soon caught up to her. Her pace was something to get used to. Good thing David was by now used to walking long distance. If he couldn't be as fast, as least he had the endurance. "That way" sounded quite vague. He suspected that they were going nowhere in particular. "So do you live out here somewhere?" he inquired.

 

Her eyes darted briefly in his direction, then she resumed her pace. "We're just out here to look for any sign of werewolves," she told him in a clipped tone. For some reason, she was kind of starting to like him, at least a little. Maybe it was because he seemed friendly... and there was a certain charm about him. But she didn't want to answer any prying questions. That wasn't why she'd asked him along, and she couldn't afford to make friends or open up to people too much. Especially random strangers.

 

"Ah, werewolves," he said after a pause, "Well, if you truly believe they're out here, then I'll look as best I can." At least let it not be said that David wasn't open to unlikely possibilities. "But, Donna, don't get disappointed if we end up empty handed." 

 

Donna rolled her eyes. Well, this was kind of why she'd asked him along. He was new to the area and skeptical, but she could also count on him not to act paranoid or flip out every time a leaf crunched. Many of the townsfolk would have probably run away screaming by now if she'd taken one of them with her. The only problem was... since he didn't believe her, would he just humor her and not take this trek seriously? He might just pretend to look around and miss some kind of vital clue.

 

"David," she sighed after a moment, pausing to turn and face him, "if you think we're really out here for nothing, maybe we should just go back." She could always just get him somewhere and go search the woods another day.

 

"Go back?" he said incredulously, "After all the trouble of asking me to come in the first place? I have a feeling that you won't be satisfied until you fully search this place." Also, David was not one for half-doing things. When he was expected to do a certain thing--unless it went against his conscience--he was obligated to finish it to the best of his ability. 

 

She studied his face for a long moment, as though trying to acertain his sincerity. Finally satisfied, she nodded and murmured her thanks as she continued to press through the forest, headed in the same direction as before. "Keep your ears peeled," she told him as they pressed onward.

 

David only nodded once. She seemed so intent that David began to feel the same about what they were doing. Someone that serious must have some unknown reason. He wondered if he should ask about it. David, often a good reader of people, could tell that she was a bit secretive--almost in the same way as he. David's eyes were just beginning to truly adjust to the darkness. His ears became attentive despite his doubts.

 

Donna was so focused on keeping her eyes and ears sharp for anything that resembled something moving, or something howling or growling, that she wasn't really watching where she was putting her feet. She had also forgotten the news she'd heard that someone had started putting large bear traps in the forest, in the hopes of catching the werewolves. Thanks to her forgetfulness, she was quickly and abruptly reminded of this fact.

 

"ARGH!" she cried out loudly as pain lanced through her leg, in her foot, ankle, and just above her ankle. She immediately stumbled and fell onto the ground. Part of her mind was vaugely aware of David shouting something--her name, perhaps--and she thought she felt his hands touching her. But the feeling of being startled and outraged blocked most of that out, and it was quickly accompanied by the blood racing through her veins and her eyes growing wide.

 

In the next instant, she had exploded out of her clothes and the backpack fell onto the ground. Where there had been a young woman on the ground a moment ago, now there was a large, silver-furred wolf with golden eyes. She snarled her outrage, then her head whipped around to grab onto the chain that attached the trap to the ground; a thrust of her neck ripped the anchor right out of the dirt.

 

This action of aggression seemed to sooth her outrage, at least a little. Her golden eyes turned to regard David, taking in his reaction.

 

Surprise wasn't quite the word to describe the mixed feelings that welled up inside him. The irony wouldn't be realized until much later. Only the image that stood so closely in front of him passed through his mind. If he were a lesser man, he would have scurried off by now. Instead, he stepped back once with an expression that suggested both bewilderment and fascination. While his sane mind demanded that he made some kind of escape, he knew that he couldn't. There was something in her eyes that mystified him. And there was always the scientist in him, always the curious one, always the one who craved to know more. He took a deep breath at that moment knowing the dangers of not remaining calm. He straigtened himself and stood his ground and dared himself to peer directly into her eyes

 

He had no idea what he was doing really, but something moved him to do so, something internal and invisible.

 

One thing that Donna was always grateful for whenever she ended up morphing into a wolf was that she still had a firm grip on her identity, her intelligence--everything that made her human, everything that told her her personality was still intact despite her altered appearance. The only thing was that she couldn't talk; she could only bark or growl right now.

 

She found herself staring at the man before her. Why was he looking at her like that? She might have thought he was just too scared to move, but the way he looked... he seemed transfixed. Fascinated. Bold, even.

 

It was starting to weird her out a little. Everyone else who'd been anywhere near her when she'd changed had run away. What was this person different?

 

Either way, the cat--or wolf--was out of the bag now. And she saw no further reason to stick around him. Surely he was just going to go back to wherever he came from, or go tell someone about this. No matter what he did, he would see her as nothing more than a freak or a monster now.

 

She gave him one last look, then she finished ripping the trap off of her foot. She grimaced as the injured spot protested, but felt relief as the wound sealed itself after a few seconds. She then gingerly grabbed the backpack between her teeth, not wanting to damage anything inside of it.

 

The silver-gray wolf then looked up at David again. Well, wasn't he going to run off? Or back away slowly? Anything? Surenly he wasn't going to follow her when she left, right?

 

"I see now," he said slowly. He walked cautiously over to the trap which had forced her to transform in the first place. It was pretty spent now. "You have to hide as well. The hesitation of driving in a car with complete strangers--it was more like a trap to someone like you. Although, asking me to come with you might not have been the smartest of moves. Who's to say I won't run off and tell the general population?" He was speaking mostly to himself because he doubted that the wolf would respond.

 

The wolf's ears pressed flat against her skull and she let out a low growl. Her golden eyes flashed and she unintentionally tightened her grip on the backpack. Something inside crunched. Realizing she had broken something, she dropped it somewhat hastily.

 

She gave David the closest thing she could muster to a withering look in her wolf form, then she snatched up the backpack by the now broken strap between her fangs, then turned and began to stalk off through the trees. Let him do whatever he wanted to do. The townsfolk were already stirred up; a new stranger who'd seen this transformation did not matter much.

 

"Wait," David said automatically. The conversation he had with the driver suddenly flashed through his mind, but he shook his head. If this was the wolf that was capable of killing, he would have been in a much worse situation.

 

The fact that her wounds had healed quite quickly even more quicker than his in his aggitated state was not missed. He began to follow her once again. "I'm the least of your worries," he said when he was within earshot.

 

She stopped. She did not turn around, but she did swing her head around to look at him, the backpack swinging from the strap she held in her clenched teeth. He was... following her? Really? No other person had done that before. Why hadn't he run off?

 

In spite of herself, she felt a little curious about him. Did his sense of curiousity outweigh his sense of caution? Did he not get frightened?

 

Strange man, she thought to herself. She might have actually said that aloud if she had been able to. She found herself staring at him, mildly curious about what he might do or say next. It wasn't like he could really harm her, after all.

 

David was glad when the "Donna"-wolf stopped. It meant that she understood what he was saying; a fact that impressed him. He wondered if that level of consciousness was learned or natural. "You came out here to look for a fellow werewolf, didn't you? If you allow me, I could still help you in that regard. Besides," he said after a moment, "I am what you call a nomad."

 

Now she stared at him harder, blinking in astonishment. No matter what this guy said about himself, it wasn't... normal for a regular human to witness someone morph into a big huge furry animal with large fangs, mangle a bear trap until it looked more like a piece of scrap metal, and then growl at him and STILL be willing to help out. Even if he was... what did he call himself? A nomad?

 

Well, maybe it just meant that his house had burned down and killed his entire family or something. She had no idea what he meant, really. Still, her curiousity had been piqued, and she had to admit that she was impressed by the fact that he hadn't run away sceaming like a little girl.

 

She dropped the backpack onto the ground and sat down in front of it. Well now, that posed a problem, didn't it? Her pants and shirt had been destroyed when she changed, but more clothes were inside the backpack. She was NOT going to change back into human mode in front of him just to put more clothes on. But she wasn't sure how she was going to get that zipper open without his help. You needed fingers to unzip a backpack, and furry toes and claws--or large teeth--were not going to do the trick. Not unless she wanted to destroy the backpack.

 

Would she be able to communicate with him, despite being a wolf? She couldn't talk, she already knew that; she'd tried it many times in the past. But maybe she could use some kind of gesture or body language...

 

She looked at him, made certain she had his full attention, then she nosed the zipper. Then, hoping he would understand the gesture, she ran a single claw in a straight line across the dirt, then looked at him. Get it? Unzip it, please. Get it?

 

Banner caught on pretty quickly. In fact, if she had merely nudged the bookbag, he might have still figured it out. She seemed very keen on that bookbag of hers. Though he was a rather curious man, he was also cautious. He crept slowly towards her until he came in a vicinity that was far closer than he was prepared for. The she-wolf stood up which startled David, but she only took a couple of steps back. He watched her intently. There was no malice in her eyes. In fact, she stood unnaturally still. Perhaps he was on the right track.

 

Then it finally donned on him what she wanted him to do. What was the first thing he always wanted after he transformed? Clothes, of course. It was always the hardest thing to get his hands on. Over the years, however, he had gotten better. It was too bad that Hulk didn't have the presence of mind to keep a bookbag of extra clothes. Then again, that would look completely odd on such a large, reckless figure.

 

When David took hold of the zipper, he noted the bent, twisted form of it. He grinned at this. Luckily, it didn't hinder the actual unzipping. In it ,he found two sets of folded pants, three T-shirts, and beneathe these items were cans of unperishable foods. One can was impossibly bent and most of its contents had spilled on the bottom of it. David took out what was needed to change clothes. Having no better ideas because the wolf could not talk, he held out the clothes and turned his head away.

 

She gave him a grateful, appreciative look as she very gently took the clothes from his hands between two of her fangs with one side of her mouth. She then took several hasty steps backward, putting some dsitance between them. She then saw his head glance back in her direction, perhaps to make sure she wasn't taking off or something.

 

She glared at him as best she could with her wolf-eyes, and made a clumsey "turn around" gesture with her paw, hoping he would get it.

 

David blinked twice not realizing that the wolf would notice. His curiosity would only take him so far--especially in the face of a creature that could easily pounce on him. He was not willing to overstep his boundaries; wherever they may be. He soon trained his eyes on a nearby tree. He had hoped to see her transform back. Did it cause great pain? Was it instant? Or was it something more bizarre and otherworldly? David could only go off what he had seen of her initial transformation for clues.

 

Once Donna was certain that David had his eyes glued to a nearby tree in the opposite direction, she closed her eyes and concentrated. The transformation back into human form was so quick she barely noticed it, but she definitely felt the odd sensation of shrinking, losing a lot of muscle mass... and becoming a lot less furry.

 

She cast a swift glance back at David, then she threw on her clothes in record time. Only afterwards did she realize that she'd put the shirt on backwards, but she did not care at the moment. She sighed loudly, her way of releasing some lingering aggravation as well as some relief. She then stooped down and began to put on her shoes, tying the laces in a secure bow-tie that she'd done ever since the second grade. She did not care if David looked at her now.

 

David took her sigh as his cue to look. He hesitated a moment just in case, but when she heard the tying of shoes, he knew that she had to at least have the use of her hands. With even greater caution than usual, he peered behind him. Good. A completely clothed woman. No pouncing on David Banner. He stepped closer to her since she seemed a great deal less vicious.

 

"How do you feel?" he asked--the standard doctorly question, he knew, but he couldn't resist.

 

She glanced up at him, then finished tying her left shoe. "Fine," she muttered, then stood to her full height--which was about half a head shorter than him, when she had been as large as a small horse a few moments ago--and brushed herself off a little. "I always feel a little... hot and feverish after... that," she shrugged one shoulder indictively. "Not sure why, it always fades after a couple of hours though." She brushed her hand against her forehead; yep, she did feel like she was running a mild fever. It was strange... she always felt hot after changing back into human, but fine. Perfectly fine.

 

"Really? No disorientation or exhaustion?" 

 

Everything just seemed so fundamentally different besides the emotion. At least he suspected as much.

 

"Why would I feel anything like that?" Donna asked out loud. Instead of waiting for an answer, she turned away from him and stepped over to her backpack, examining the contents. "Ew," she muttered in annoyance when she noticed the broken can at the bottom. "Looks like I'll have to get a new backpack." She began to take everything that was clean and salvageable out of it, setting it on a nearby rock.

 

"Well, I would think after all of...that, you'd need some time to recuperate. And if so," he said moving to her position, "Maybe we should find someplace to rest for tonight."

 

Having finished taking everything out of her backpack and discarding it, she looked at David straight in the face and put her hands on her hips. "What makes you think you know so much?" she inquired firmly. "For that matter... what is with you, anyway? You followed me around when most people would have run off, and you actually talked to me while I was a wolf. What's the matter with you?"

 

"I realize that it might not make much sense to you now, but you're hardly in any position to complain. You can trust me. I'll keep your secret for you. If there really is another werewolf, it would be better that we stuck together--for my safety and for yours. But really, what did you expect from a person who would be willing to follow another into a forest in the dead of night? I assure you, it wasn't for the money alone."

 

She was quiet for a few seconds, considering his words. Then she sat down on the edge of the rock she had placed her few belongings on, folded her arms, and looked up at him. "So... you're telling me that it doesn't bother you that I could turn into a giant dog at any minute?" she asked slowly. "What if I told you that I've even eaten a deer or a moose on occasion for dinner? Because..." She glanced down at her shoes, "I have, you know. Truthfully."

 

David followed her with his eyes,"Well now, that's something I didn't know before. The fact that you can transform intentionally certainly changes things. Of course, the only time it would bother me is if it were to take another human life. Deer meat, however, is a different story. I heard that it could be delicious if cooked just right," he said with the beginnings of a grin.

 

Donna coughed sheepishly. "Yeah well... I wouldn't know about that, exactly," she said, not quite looking at him. "I've only eaten it in wolf mode... and only raw." Her lip twisted slightly in disgust. "There have been... times where I stayed in wolf mode for weeks, even months, at a time. Because I just couldn't be around people. And... I can't eat like that when I'm a human, but I can do that if I stay a wolf." She now made herself look at him, trying to see if she was any closer to scaring him off--or at least, weirding him out--yet.

 

He smiled briefly, "A woman who likes her meat raw. I imagine a human chomping down on freshly killed meat would be a bit unseemly." David squatted down to her level as he assumed a more serious tone. "Some people," he said carefully, "were meant to live a life apart from others. In fact, in some cases, it is pertinent. Sometimes, in order to protect others, we must deny ourselves."

 

This time she actually managed to catch the "we" part. She squinted at him in puzzlement for a moment, then decided to ignore it. Maybe he was just trying really hard to be her buddy for some reason. It seemed pretty obvious that he was a "lone wolf" of his own sort, but she was pretty much certain he was no werewolf. She had no idea what his story was.

 

"Yeah well, at least I'm not entirely alone," she said aloud. "There is another like me." Then she remembered the other one, and the reason why she'd brought David out here in the first place. "No, there's two others," she said, correcting herself. "One of them is my friend, and he's around somewhere. But the other one..." She swallowed. "He has... k-killed people." She looked away.

 

David's eyes narrowed at this. He wasn't so much concerned that there were others, but that one was capable of murdering. His first thought was always the authorities when it came to such things, but who could lock up a werewolf? If it could happen, what would be the reprocussions for Donna or her friend who be hunted down the same as he was. No, if they were going to put an end to this, they would have to do this swiftly and internally.

 

"In your other form, you seem rather formidable and you say that there is another. Surely two could overpower one if it came to that."

 

Not to mention, Banner thought to himself, the fact that she could transform at will. It just made things that much more simpler.

 

"Yeah but... we'd have to find him first," Donna told him. "He's been very elusive."

 

Before either of them could say anything else, a noise caught Donna's attention. She turned her head just in time to see a flash of movement between a couple of nearby trees. She practically jumped to her feet when she realized what it was.

 

"Travis!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, it was another large wolf. Only this one was even larger than she had been in her wolf form, and far more muscular. Perhaps it was because he was a male. And instead of having silver fur, he had sandy brown fur with touches of darker brown along his back and on his face. His belly was a much softer color, kind of a creamy tan.

 

He stood perfectly still, his golden eyes darting between her and David for a moment. She burst into a grin and rushed forward, practically throwing her arms around the massive creature's neck in a hug. The wolf grunted a bit and his ears twitched, but otherwise he remained still.

 

David was a little less startled than he would've been if he had not seen Donna transform right before his eyes a few minutes ago. He promptly stood up from his squatting position to behold the beast that stood before him. The creature was uncannily still and was hard to read, David took it that he was friendly, otherwise he would have second guessed staying around. He was gigantic compared to the smaller silvery wolf and so much more alarming.

 

"My name is David," he said while giving the other a wide berth. At least he would get the formalities out of the way, if anything else, though he felt highly uncomfortable.

 

The giant wolf continued to look at him. Donna had taken a few steps back, now standing between him and David, facing the creature. "He's a friend," she explained to the wolf quickly. He looked at her with what seemed to be bewilderment. "Um... I kind of asked him to come along with me, because I wanted help to find... you know who," she admitted to his furry face sheepishly.

 

Travis's eyes widened, then he lowered his head and looked directly into Donna's face, giving a long, low growl of disappoval. Donna took a couple of hasty steps backward, but her body language seemed more sheepish than frightened. "I know it was a dumb move," she said defensively. "But I had no clue where you were, and you wouldn't answer my howls. So I decided to get some other help."

 

The wolf gave her look, then snorted in what sounded like disgust or agitation. Then he locked eyes with Donna again, and some sort of silent communication seemed to pass between them, at least while they were concentrating on each other.

 

"Then maybe you should have SAID something," Donna hissed, as if responding to something only she had heard.

 

It took David a moment to deduce that they were speaking telepathically. It was like hearing one side of the conversation while watching someone speaking on a telephone. At the very least, David and Travis was in agreement with something: it was not the best idea to invite random person along for the ride. Luckily, Donna had not made an entirely bad choice. Out of anyone in the world, David might've been the best choice. He didn't fully understand the conversation so he did not butt into it. The dialogue truly did seem like an 'a' and 'b' one. Even if Donna claimed that the wolf was her friend, David had no intentions of angering him in the least. He already felt that his very presence  was almost too much for the other to bear.

 

The conversation between them continued. After a few more words were exchanged, it seemed to become more telepathic than verbal, because even Donna was starting to be more silent. Or when she did speak, her sentences would cut off abruptly. David was able to pick up on a few things from the one-sided chatter, but only that Donna was getting agitated and defensive, and judging from the wolf's body language and growls, Travis was getting more angry. It wasn't hard to deduce that they were having an argument.

 

Finally Donna turned on her heel and practically stamped over to the rock where her belongings were. Travis let out a sharp bark that sounded angry and menacing, then he seemed to focus in her direction one final time as though relaying one final message. Then he stuck his nose in the air for a moment, turned and took off through the trees.

 

"Yeah, just go on," Donna growled without even looking in his direction. "Get out of here." She busied her attention with rearranging the unbroken cans of food in no particular order on the rock's surface.

 

David watched silently as the other left. He couldn't help but be relieved by his departure. He could finally breath normally again. "So," David began as things settled down again, "What just happened?"

 

He wondered if this was too personal or too forward a question, but it was too late; he had already asked the question.

 

She clunked a can down against the rock and sighed. "Oh," she said, speaking in a sing-song voice of annoyance, "first he tells me that I'm an idiot, then he says I should have just stayed out sight because he was hot on the trail of--of the killer. Then apparently he picked up my scent in the forest, heard me scream when I stepped into the trap, and lost the trail when he headed back in this direction to check on me." She plopped herself down into a sitting position on the rock, sighing in agitation. "So he says that the one we're looking for has probably gotten away, it's all my fault, blah blah blah." She sighed again. "Now he's just gone off to get something to eat in the woods. He says we'll 'talk again' when he gets back. But," she snapped, her tone darkening, "I'm not sure if I want to be here when he gets back!" She abruptly stood and began to scoop all of her belongings into her arms.

 

He watched her hasty movements with concern. He just had to say something. "Now, Donna, don't you think you should take another look at all of this? How many other werewolves are you going to find out there? Who else are you going to find who understands you unique situation? If I were in your shoes, I'd try my hardest to preserve such a relationship. The fact that he came back for you, should speak volumes."

 

Donna froze. She didn't seem to loosen up much, but something in her expression definitely softened as she considered his words. After a moment she dropped her cans of food back onto the rock and put down her spare clothes, but remained standing. "He didn't need to call me stupid," she finally said. "Yes, I made a mistake, and it could have turned out badly, but he didn't need to..." She trailed off, shaking her head.

 

David came from behind her and placed comforting hands on her shoulders, "He sounds more like a concerned brother than anything else. Wait for him. I think you stand to win a lot more if you do that."

 

The tension in her rigid stance seemed to ease under his fingertips a little. "Yeah," she said, even though she didn't look at him. She didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. "I guess I was pretty stupid. Maybe I should apologize when he gets back."

 

Suddenly she grinned and looked at him with an impish expression. "But hey, I remember one time, a few months ago, when I got really mad at him... I actually did leave, and he tracked me across four states and found me in the middle of Texas. Can you believe I lead him that far?" 

 

"What's even more unbelievable is that he was able to do so unseen," David said thoughtfully. He took his hands from her shoulders when he felt her relax, "This telepathic thing must be quite long range."

 

Always wanting to know more, he had a penchant for slipping in comments that might yield some interesting responses especially if his comments were wrong. A person would naturally want to correct them.

 

"Yeah well... the range limit seems to be a few miles, I think," Donna mused aloud. "But there is another way we can keep track of each other, or look for anyone else; in our wolf modes, we have a very good sense of smell. Like... I'm sure that if I turned into a wolf now, and if you left my sight while I wasn't looking... I could figure out which way you went, and follow you until I found you."

 

She stopped talking, then looked away again. Seriously, why was she telling him this? He'd only seen her morphing abilities a short time ago, and she was telling him all about the things she could do as a wolf. Then again... there did seem to be something about him that practically screamed "I mean no harm and I'm just curious".

 

"That certainly makes things convenient for you considering if I were to run off at this moment," he grinned chiefly, "Not that I would. There's something I wanted to ask you though," David said looking at another object besides her eyes, "The first time I saw you transform, it was because the bear trap inflicted pain on you so I began to think that it must've been anger that triggered it. But you claim that you can morph on your own without any stimulus. How is it that you can control such a thing as transformation?"

 

She frowned. That was... not exactly a comfortable subject. She'd never talked to anyone about it before; she and Travis didn't even discuss it openly. It was just something that they did at times... kind of like jumping into a lake and then knowing how to swim. You have to learn how to control your arms and legs, and your reflexes and breathing as you swim, but you don't really think about it. Same went for walking or running. It was just... something natural that could be controlled at will. Not something you talked about.

 

And perhaps it was just even more weird to talk about it with a complete stranger who was just curious. Friendly, kind, and charming, and somehow not frightened or weirded out by all this, but... a stranger nonetheless.

 

She took a few steps away, indicating she didn't want to discuss it. "It's just something we do," she said simply. She began to examine the bark and moss on a nearby tree intently, just to have something to focus on.

 

David evaluated her body language and knew that he had traveled onto private territory finally. That was where the line was. Unfortunately, the line was drawn at a most inconvenient point. However, David had faced enough disappointment in his life to simply accept this one. He had hit yet another dead end in his quest to find a cure or something that could give him complete control over his actions. As usual, this was the part when he focused exclusively on the problem at hand. He knew that for the time being he was just as screwed up as the day when his lapse in common sense costed him his life as he knew it. What was so different now? For one thing, it wasn't often that he met another person who he could relate to at least to a certain degree.

 

"Something you do," David responded almost monotonously, "How lucky you are. You make it sound as easy and inevitable as blinking. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I usually try not to do that sort of thing to people; you never know how people could react when pushed into a corner."

 

Now she looked at him curiously. There was just something about his face this time, and the way he spoke, that caught her attention. Lucky? Did he seriously just say that she and Travis were lucky? What was so "lucky" about turning into a wolf at will--or sometimes unintentionally--and having to hide that fact from the rest of the world?

 

"David..." Donna began, but fell silent. What exactly was she going to ask? He didn't really seem very forthcoming, and he seemed far more curious about what it was like to turn into a wolf and be a wolf. "Is there, um..." Again she fumbled for words. "What's your story?" she finally blurted, and hoped that she wouldn't make him uncomfortable.

 

"Well, I supposed that it would come to this," David said with a sigh. But what was he going to say now? Every single time he trusted a person enough to disclose his most deepest secret, they died. Did he want to take that chance again?

 

However, right at that moment, the sound of rustling leaves and solid footfalls caught their attention. Travis, still in his wolf form, had returned. There was a trace of blood along his jaw, apparently a remainder of his meal--whatever he had eaten. His long, thick tongue quickly removed any lingering trace of it, however.

 

Donna, forgetting what she had been talking about with David for the moment, looked at the wolf. Then she sighed and walked toward the beast. "I'm sorry for what I did, Travis," she said quietly, sincerely. "And... well, thanks for coming back to make sure I was okay." She cast David a quick, meaningful glance, then looked back at the wolf.

 

Travis studied her for a moment, then sat on his haunches in front of her, looking at her with affecionate eyes. Somehow, despite his massive size and the fact that he was big enough to bite someone's head off--literally--he looked more like an overgrown puppy with that look than a dangerous wolf.

 

Donna grinned. "Yeah it's okay," she said. "Apology accepted."

 

Saved by the bell--or wolf. If he hadn't come, David would have had to come up with some reason why he couldn't tell her. He wondered if her budding trust in him would have vanished at that point. Travis had still startled him despite himself. No matter the expression on his face, he was still huge and made David feel more akin to a small insect. His caution was back on in full force.

 

His heart, however, was able to fully appreciate what had just ocurred. If there were moments that he lived for, it was these. Often times, David would wonder why he even continued the daily struggle of existing. Perhaps it was to bring joy to other's lives. It certainly wasn't because he enjoyed being on the run all the time...

 

"I'm glad you two made up," David said with a genuine smile.

 

Donna looked as though she was about to say something, but then she turned to look at Travis again. The two of them stared at each other for a couple of long moments, apparently having another silent conversation. Finally Donna nodded and looked at David again.

 

"Yeah um... we're staying out here tonight, I guess," she said, scratching the back of her neck in an awkward manner. "Travis says that Warren--that's the killer's name--might be close by. He doesn't want to take any chances, so he's staying in wolf mode."

 

Just when David was wondering if he would soon see Travis in his human form, his thoughts were answered straight away. As for the prospects of sleeping outdoors, David had no room to complain. He had slept in worse places with less friendlier people. He only wished that it wasn't quite so cold outside right now. It would have been perfect otherwise.

 

"Is there anyway that Warren could be talked to? Are you sure that he killed in cold-blood?"

 

Travis and Donna exchanged glances. Donna sighed. "David... I think we've had enough excitement for one day," she said. "Could we just get some sleep? Maybe we can all talk more tomorrow."

 

"Fine," he said, "Perhaps you're right," he said stifling a yawn.

 

The majority of David's day had simply been him trying to catch a ride. It wasn't until the late afternoons that he had found one and now he found himself here. David sometimes wondered why he constantly put himself into such situations. Did he somehow want to get in trouble? Was this why?

 

"Are you not going to be in your wolf form?"

 

Donna shrugged. "I guess I'll stay like this, for now," she said. "I mean... since you're here, I think one of us should be able to talk."

 

"That's sensible," David replied.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Donna actually found it harder to get comfortable and go to sleep in human form. Somehow... the ground seemed less rocky or bumpy when you were large and covered with thick fur, perhaps. Yet she did manage to get to sleep after a lot of tossing and turning.

 

However, it felt like only a few seconds later that she opened her eyes once again. Some time had obviously passed--a few hours--because the sky was beginning to light up with the early morning sun. But the sunlight was not what woke her up. Her sensitive hears--or maybe it was her telepathy--had alerted her to something.

 

She glanced over in David's direction. He was curled up and fast asleep a short distance away, oblivious. Maybe that was for the best. Travis was nowhere in sight, but Donna knew why; he was most likely off tracking Warren. There was no doubt in Donna's mind that the mean wolf was somewhere nearby.

 

Donna cast another quick look in David's direction. For now, she wouldn't disturb him and she would just let him sleep. She slipped out of her clothes and tossed them aside onto a fallen tree, not wanting to ruin ANOTHER set--and no one was looking at her right now anyway. Then she quickly morphed into a wolf before anyone would have a chance to look at her.

 

She then sat down on the ground, making no movements except for a slight tremor of her bushy tail. Then she thought she heard something a few yards away. She tensed, and let out a warning bark--a noise loud enough to wake David up.

 

He must have been a lot more tired than he had thought. Lately, his sleeping patterns were quite irregular. It was nothing to wake up in the middle of night full of energy and then crash a few hours later. Today was surprisingly normal...apart from his unusual alarm clock which sounded more like a bark. Then he suddenly remembered that he wasn't in any type of room or hotel. Right, the wolf-girl, everything came rushing back to him as he peered up at the silver wolf. How could he forget something like that? He sat up slowly unsure if he had dreamed her barking or if it was a real one and warranted getting out of the way quickly.

 

Donna ignored David for the moment. She was more or less facing his direction, but her attention was focused on what seemed to be about twenty meters away, if her senses and her telepathy were accurate. She bared her teeth and flattened her ears against her skull, releasing a menacing snarl as she took a step forward. To anyone who did not sense what she was sensing, they might have thought she was heading straight for them instead. Right now, that happened to be David.

 

Maybe this was still a dream, a rather confused David tried to rationalize--one of those exceptionally vivid ones. However, just in case, he let a little thing called fear drive his next action. Not only were the hairs on the back of his neck standing up all on their own, now there was a menacing looking wolf staring him down. As fast as he could, he scrambled to his feet and moved out the way. His heart was racing and he knew this was dangerous. When he was a good distance away, he tried desperately to ignore the fear to envision another time and place that was completely peaceful. Flowers. He repeated to himself. Bright, pretty flowers that glowed in the sun's rays. A zephyre, yes, a nice breeze would run it's fingers over the soft, green grass and rustle them. And flowers, he said to himself. And more flowers.

 

He was in no danger. No danger at all. It was just a misunderstanding. Now that David stood at a good distance, he could stop trying to convince himself. A hand went to his chest as he still felt his pounding heart. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for good measure.

 

Donna ran right past David without even looking at him. Her paws thudded against the ground, her claws tearing up a bit of the foilage as she went. She quickly reached the exact spot where Warren was. His eyes were darkened with an almost feral expression and his fangs were bared.

 

Donna let out a vicious snarl, then leapt straight at him. However, he was ready for her; he moved just enough so that her snapping jaws missed him entirely, closing a few inches from his left ear. Then he reacted, swinging back and cuffing her with one of his front paws, HARD.

 

She was sent flying, literally. She was thrown back several meters, crashing into the ground just a few feet from where David still stood. She yelped in pain and alarm as she staggered to her feet, trying to regain her balance. Instead she ended up positioning herself into a seated stance, waiting for her self-healing ability to finish sealing up the deep claw marks she had sustained across her face and throat. Blood dripped from her wounds, then ceased after a moment.

 

Donna found herself glancing in David's reaction, to see if he was still there and to see if he was okay.

 

David knew better than to be so close to such a fearsome scuffle that was occuring. He had never seen anything like it. He could compare it to a wrestling match, but that didn't do this situation justice. He still managed to keep his heart rate at a tolerable pace enough so that he wasn't on edge. For now, the fear of transforming far outweighed his fear of angry werewolves.

 

David stepped back a few paces. He had no intentions of becoming actively involved. Donna seemed to be handling her own especially since she had her uncanny ability of healing herself in seconds. Still he was concerned for her safety--a feeling that he couldn't shake.

 

The she-wolf's attention snapped back to that of Warren when she heard an angry snarl. Now that her injuries were pretty much healed, she stood up and began to slowly move in the vicious werewolf's direction, baring her teeth and giving a low snarl.

 

However, something caused her to stop in her tracks. A mental request from Travis, one that sounded more like a command.

 

Get David out of here; I'll handle this.

 

Donna narrowed her golden wolf eyes at the words. It sounded to her like Travis just wanted her to get to safety, so that she would be out of the way with David. Travis saw her thoughts, and quickly pointed out that this was no time to argue; she needed to get David out of there, because this was no place for a normal person who couldn't defend himself.

 

Sighing, Donna had to admit that he had a good point. She cast a quick glance at David. Well, hopefully Travis would be able to handle himself--though he did have a lot more strength and muscle than she did. She moved toward the place where she'd thrown her clothes and gingerly grabbed them up between her teeth. Then she went behind a clump of bushes, morphed back into her human form, and threw her clothes back on in record time.

 

It was only when she stepped out from behind the bushes that she realized something. She had forgotten to take her shoes off before she'd turned into a wolf! Now they were destroyed. So she was stuck walking barefoot, but it could have been worse she supposed. At least she had the important areas of her body covered.

 

"We gotta go," she shouted at David. "Travis is handling it, come on!" She began to jog through the woods, beginning to feel every rock and clump of dirt beneath her feet as she went. Oh she was going to regret this.

 

There was really no need to respond to Donna as she took off into the words. She didn't have to tell him twice. In fact, it was a complete relief for David. He ran off after her as soon as he knew the situation. He knew little about Travis, but he seemed like he had everythng under control. Only David still frowned at the entire situaiton.

 

He didn't like the idea of a family having to be torn apart. Even as he was relieved, David was equally as despondent.

 

They moved quickly through the forest, putting a fair distance between themselves and the snarling, battling Warren and Travis. Finally Donna plopped herself down onto a grassy area of the ground, breathing deeply. She glanced behind her, seeing with her mind what she couldn't see with her eyes. They were still at it, far behind her and David in the woods.

 

She narrowed her eyes, concentrating. It took some effort, but she could focus on their pyschics. She then saw--no, felt would be a better word--Warren deliever a particularlly vicious blow. His snarling face filled her mind's eye as she saw what happened through Travis's eyes, as the black-colored wolf bit down on Travis's throat--

 

"ARGH!" Donna screamed even more shrilly than she had when she had stepped into a bear trap. She shuddered, burying her face into her hands, trembling. The connection between her and Travis had been broken, and the pain faded into a memory.

 

David had planned to ask Donna what she thought the outcome of the fight would be, but it would seem that he got he answer immediately. It appeared as if the connection she had with Travis was far more palpable than David had first realized. 

 

He stopped in his tracks when he heard her scream. In his time, he had heard many of such screams and this one suggested more than just fear. Something had gone horribly. David didn't know her very well, but he thought that he might try to comfort her. Sitting there on the soft grass trembling with a mix of despondency and pain, he couldn't just allow her to experience such thing on her own. It was hard to believe that the same fierce she-wolf that he had witness moments before was the very same woman who sat before him now.

 

He walked until he was beside her and sat down beside her. As if by instinct, he wrapped her arms around her in a gentle embrace. He could feel her muscles trembling with astonishing intensity.

 

She tensed slightly at first, but then permitted his touch. She stared straight ahead, slowly reaching up to touch her throat. "I saw--felt--him tear into Travis," she whispered. "I think he hurt him, badly." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to reconnect with one of the other werewolf minds. She was having difficulty reaching them. Sometimes if a werewolf mind became too filled with emotion, it interfered with the connection. Clear heads were always better for communication, after all--it was just more true with telepathy.

 

She abandoned the attempt after a few moments. She shook her head slightly, unable to reach either one to figure out what was happening now.

 

"The best thing we can do right now is wait," David said softly to her whispering tones, "If it's true that you have this psychic connection with him, I would think that it would give him some comfort to know that you are safe and sincerely believe that he can pull through."

 

Donna nodded a little in acknowledgement of his words. "Yeah, you're right," she told him, and seemed to regain some of her composure. She realized that she was returning his gentle embrace, and she pulled back a little. Yeah David had been very helpful and supportive--he still wasn't running away, even though there was a battle going on right now in the woods. But she barely new him. It was weird to hug a stranger like that.

 

"Um," she muttered as she stood, pulling free of the hug, "I just... need to move around." She then began to pace back and fourth across a short distance between two large tree trunks.

 

He was glad only in doing his part---whatever part he was playing at the moment. For some reason as she pulled away from him, he had wanted to convince her to stay put. Alas, it was not in his nature to force people to do things and she clearly wanted to keep a comfortable distance. They were, of course, still strangers.

 

David watched her pace for a while--it was beginning to make even him a little anxious.

 

"They could be at it for awhile," David warned, "You'll wound up tiring yourself out at this rate."

 David still sat on the ground, but now he sat in a cross-legged fashion.

 

Donna stopped pacing and looked at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then she suddenly glanced sharply in the direction of the ongoing fight. She sucked in a breath through her nostrils.

 

She began to wonder if she should be... honest with David. To tell him that she hadn't been entirely truthful before. Well, he was willingly hanging around with werewolves, and in a way he was putting himself in danger. Didn't he deserve to know, especially now?

 

"Um, David..." she began slowly. She glanced down at her fingers, twirling around a small piece of bark she'd picked up. "I think there's something you should know, especially if you're gonna hang around with us."

 

The first thing that came to David's mind was why he continued to be around such dangerous beings. While he couldn't answer the question to any satisfying degree, he knew that now was not the time to abandon them. It seemed that a problem was brewing. Wherever there was a problem, there was David. Why should that fact change now.

 

David looked up at Donna with interest as she said this. While he wanted to know what she would say next, it would also mean that he would have to be honest with her. The whole time, this dilemma repeated in his mind as he listened to her.

 

"Well?" David inquired. 

 

"Well," she echoed, "I... okay I didn't exactly lie," she stalled, "but I didn't tell you the whole truth either. You see..." Now she forced herself to look at him. He was looking at her intently; there was no doubt that she had his full attention. She coughed and glanced away again, looking at the bark on the closest tree. "There isn't just three of us," she blurted out. There, she said it.

 

For some reason, it hadn't been what David had been expecting--he didn't know what he had actually been waiting to hear, but he had supposed that it was something much more horrible than this.

 

"You mean, werewolves aren't a dying species? It's amazing that I haven't heard of you until now."

 

"Yeah well..." Donna shrugged. She couldn't think of anything else to say. "There's only five of us, at least that I know of," she finally informed him.

 

The sound of a twig snapping and heavy footfalls crunching some leaves caught her attention. That was when she saw Kara approaching--in her wolf form. In many ways, Donna often envied her, because somehow she just looked very good in both her human form and her wolf form. Donna swore that she herself looked like a Plain Jane in comparision.

 

Nevertheless, Donna was merely grateful that her senses had been correct; Kara had arrived at the knick of time. The two of them locked their eyes together and a silent communication flowed between them. Apparently Warren had retreated, and Travis wanted to be alone while his injuries healed.

 

Kara sat on the ground and glanced at herself. She was a white-colored wolf with eyes that were blue instead of gold. She glanced off to one side, then moved toward a nearby puddle to look at her reflection. She smoothed out a small area of fur that was out of place.

 

Donna rolled her eyes. "Always so vain," she muttered.


End file.
